The price of tamarinds produced in upper Myanmar regions are expected to increase, traders forecast.
Demand for tamarind strengthens this month. There is a high chance for tamarind to fetch a higher price this year.
The yield of tamarind is pretty good. The price will go up when tamarind exports increase, a seller from Bayint Naung Wholesale Center told the Global New Light of Myanmar (GNLM).
During the harvest season, tamarind from the Yamethin area was priced at K2,300 per viss in the wholesale market on 14 December 2022. The prices stayed on the low side at K1,700-1,800 per viss three months later, while the tamarind fresh fetched K2,500-2,900 per viss in the Yangon markets.
In mid-2022, the price hit an unprecedented high in Yangon. Yet, the price did not go up in 2023. The good quality tamarind fresh is worth K3,100 per viss.
Last year, some traders stored them in the hopes of receiving higher prices. However, the price did not rise and there are even tamarinds produced in 2021 stockpiled at the warehouse.
In late 2022, the supplies to the Yangon market increased, said a seller.
Before the 2000s, tamarinds were utilized in the tobacco businesses. Now, the number of those businesses has declined. So, the demand softens significantly. They are still used in the tamarind extract business.
The export volume of tamarind last year drastically fell compared to the previous years. The traders offer K50,000-100,000 per tamarind plant depending on the yield and then harvest them. Tamarind is sharing markets with other sour fruits such as mango and lemon in the domestic markets. This month, the traders continue buying them when the price is low.
Tamarind price usually climbs when the prices of other commodities are stable, Ko Phyo Ko, who is involved in tamarind trading on Kayan Street, told the GNLM. – TWA/EM
